Inking mechanism for platen printing presses



July 29, 19 47. I C'IFZ ROOT 2,424,903

"INKINGMECHAN'ISM 30R PLATEN PRINTING PRESSES Filed Nov. 23. '1944 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 IN VEN TOR.

I BY

A r TO R NEYS CHARLES F. ROOT July 29, 1947- c. F. ROOT 2,424,903

INKI NG MECHANISM FOR PLATEN PRINTING PRESSES Filed Nov. 23. 1944 2 Sheets-.-Sheet 2 53 i I l l ig so 20 i W9 530 mmvroa 1 CHARLES F. ROOT (Me/JIM? ATTORNEYS Patented July 29, 1947 INKING MECHANISM FOR PLATEN PRINTING PRESSES Charles F- fiihc Chandler At Boot, QIev L. Ohio, ass n to Price Company, Cleveland,

Ohio, a, corporation; of Ohio Applica ion Norcniber 23, 194% Serial No. 564,764 r ll-ql ips. b-L 1 The present! irnproveme-ntsi as {it cater! to inking mechani m for r nt ng press s have more particular regard to. inkin me han sm for platen printing presses of the sorcalled Gore don type. Still more particularly the present in-i vention relates to improvements in the inking m c n m which fo ms th subj ct matter of my n n in app ication filed January 13.1944 Serial No. 518,105. 1

It will be understood, however, that as in'the case of the invention which forms the subject matter of such co-pend-ingapplication 50 171716 present improvements may lee-advantageously used with printing presses of othertypes wherea rm e s o he. inked by: transferri g rim;

from a suitable fountain orlike source. spaced from such form.

One principal object of the present invention is to provide readily iadjustable'means whereby the fountain or roller which forms a part thereof and which supplies ink to the distributingrollers may be ar o s y s t o ed dep ndin upon whether the press is being operated normally, i. e...acti1ally printing, .or for makesup purposes. At the. same time provision is made so that. Wh never the v throw-off is applied to the press SO astodn the printing op ra n the su p y of ink fro the f unta ro r t the dis ributin roll rs. wil use W s e autom tica ly nterrupt d. st l; another of ink transferred by the fountainroller to the distribu ing rollers may be varied lengthwise 9f the latter so as correspondingly to varythe {supply of ink to different portions of the. form. is

desirable where one such portion a men-sex. g

tensive printin ac th n th other.

To the accomplishment of the foregoing-and related ends, said invention, then, ,consis' oi the means hereinafter fully described and particularly pointed out in the claims.

Th exed d awin s and the foll wing: d s ript t forth in et l ertain mechanism o y n th invention, ch is los d: eans c nstitut g. owever, but one o various me hanical forms in which the principle f the invention may be used. I

In said annexed drawings: I

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of the bed member of a platen printing press ofthe Gordon type showing I my improved inking mechanism associated therei with; I

Fig. 2 is a similar side elevation on a; larger scale of such inking mechanism showing s operative connections wit the pre et, j

je t is to pr vi e m ns wher by the amount Fig. 3 is a plan View of such mechanism, 1. e. as viewed from above in Fig. 2;

Fla. 51 is a rear elevation of the ame, wi h cert n arts shown sectioned, on h p a e ind cated y h. n. 4.-4.0f Fig. 2;

5 is a. transverse and Fig. 5a a vertical section. f nother operative p t of such inkin mechanism, the plane of such transverse section being ind ated by the l ne 5-5 Fi 2; a d

Fig. 6 is a side elevation corresponding to that f. Fig. 2 ut showing e tain selected p rts y oi the inki mec nism- As indicated, it has been deemed necessary for the purpose in h nd. to l ust ate nly those p tionsof the p e s with wh ch my pro d i ins mecha i m is direc y asso i e As h r ih ted, the press chosen for illustrative purpose is of th sic-cal ed Gordon typ the bed l of the pr s, in e face of which the iorm (not shown) is secured in familiar mann r, is oscillatorily supported at its lower end about an axis} in the main frame 3 of the press. Q.s iillat onv o bed pr duc d y me ns of connecting rods or side arms 4, one on each side, which are attached at one end to cranks (not shown) on a rotating art of the pressand at the other to the corresponding ends of a shaft 6 that extends. transversely through the bed. The last- I amed connections include eccentrics so that by oscillation of theshaft, the lbed may be displaced sufificiently so as to prevent the form from coming intocontact with theplaten. Such shifting of theeccentric connections just referred to is ordinarily effected by means of hand lever (not shown) through an interconnected system of links and levers 9.

also .oscillatorily mounted on shaft 6 are roller frames Ill, one on each side of the bed, which carry the form inking rollers H. The latter are mounted in the usual manner in trucks or saddles 1.2; which are in turn attached to the outer end of plungers. l3 that are normally drawn inwardly by associated springs in arms Ill. Oscillation of the latterjis, produced in the usual manner as by means of a link [4, illustrated in fragmentary form only in Fig. 1, which is connected at one point with a pivot Ma on one of said arms, spaced from the axis of oscillation thereof, and at the other end to a fixed point on the main frame of the press; 'Mounted ona bracket l5 that projects upwardly frorn bed l is. an ink distributing plate l6 which is preferably in the form .of a disc rotatable abouta central pivot. on said bracket. To assist in the'everi' distribution of ink on the disc, prowhereon the previously described form inking.

rollers H, as well as the ink distributing rollers I8, are movably distributed.

The detailed construction of the main track- 1 way and of said form inking and ink distributing rollers constitutes no part of the present invention, and their operation, so far as the present improved inking mechanism is concerned, may be taken as the same as in the conventional Gordon- In other words, the uppermost of 7 type press. the ink distributing rollers 18, as the latter are moved back and forth across the ink distributing plate I6, is brought into contact with the inking roller 20 of the ink well, 2|, description of which follows, and the ink received therefrom isthereupon distributed uniformly over the plate during downward travel of the distributing rollers. Upon reverse movement of the latter the form rollers are swung upwardly across the plate, take up the film of ink thus distributed thereon, and

4 one of three different rotative positions upon the shaft end in question, a knob 4| being provided on the ring to facilitate its adjustment in selected position. A radially projecting pin 42 prevents rotation of the rin too far in either direction.

Under normal operating conditions of the press, eccentric shaft 6 will occupy the position shown in Fig. 2 and likewise the position of ring 35 will be as shown in said figure in which the central depression 36 is in engagement with the spring catch .31. The location of the boss 36 on the a ring is such that in this position of the parts roller 34 on rocker arm 3i will be engaged therewith'and the rocker accordingly actuated to supor'both of the rollers 18 when the latter reaches port the fountain in position where the fountain roller 20 will be adapted to contact with one I the limit of its travel toward the fountain. Howas they move downwardly across the form, ink

the latter. a p i As best shown in Figs. 2, 3 and 4, the ink fountain 21 as a whole is carried by a frame which comprises two similar sidemembers 22 held together inspaced-apart relation by means of rods 23, the roller 20 together with the usual scraper blade 24 which forms the bottom of the fountain being mounted between said side members. The latter include similar forwardly extending arms 25 that are pivoted about a shaft 26 in the bracket l5 which carries the disc i6. In its normal posi-. tion the fountain is swung upwardly about the pivotal axis provided by shaft 28 so as to bring the inking roller 20 into positionto contact with one or both of distributing rollers l8; however, upon dropping the fountain even slightly, such inkingrollerwill .be moved out of such contacting position. Shaft 6, as previously described, is designed ,to be oscillated through the throw-off sothat by meansof its eccentric connections with the "side arms 4 the form will be held out of contact with the platen. Such oscillation of shaft 6 is also utilized simultaneously to control the position ofthe ink fountain through. means new to-bedescribed.

Mounted for-oscillation upon the-sameshaft 26 to. which the ink fountain is swingablyconnected through arms 25 is a rocker comprising two arms 30 and 3| rigidly connected together through the medium of a short stub-shaft32 (see Fig. 4) to which said arms are pinned, such shaft also carrying an adjusting screw 33, the head of which is disposed so as to contact with the lowermost rod 23 that forms a part of the ink fountain frame. The lowerend of rocker arm 30-extends downwardly and carries .a roller 34 disposed to contact with a ring 35," that is mounted for re tative adjustment upon-the adjacent end of shaft 6. This ring is concentric with the-axis of; the 2::

shaft and is formed with a radiallyiprojecting boss 36. that extends -in the form of a, segment part way around the ring. By means ofa springpressed'ball 31 disposed to engage in one or the other of three openings or depressions 38, 39,-and

40 in said ring the latter may be secured in any ever, when shaft 6 is oscillated to its throw-off position, such oscillation being in a counterclockwise direction as viewed in Fig. 2, boss 20 will be rotated] out of engagement with roller and the rocker, together with the fountain supported thereby, will be dropped a sufficient distancejto prevent such contact between the fountain roller and said rollers l8. As a result no ink will be'transferred to the inking disc when the press is in throw-off position, i. e. running but not printing.

Under certain conditions in setting up the press for operation it is found desirable to run the press with'the throw-off on or off but without inking the form." 'In such case, by rotating ring '35 to bring depression 40 in en agement with the spring catch; the roller 34 on the rocker arm 3| will not be engaged by the boss 36 at any time. On the other hand, under other conditions it may be desired ml: the form With the throw-off operative: In such case, by rotating the ring in the opposite direction until aperture 38 is engaged by the spring catch, said roller 34 will remain at allftimes in engagement with the boss 36.

The portionsfli of tracks l l' on which the trucks thatcarrythe ink rollers l8 run are disposedfon e on each side of the inking disc and necessarily extend beyond the latter to. the ink fountain in order that, contact may be made by said rollers with the fountain roller 20. As best shown in Fig. these track extensions 46 are hingedly connected with'the main track portions and are capableof being independently vertically adiusted by means of set screws 41. By varying the adjustment of'these screws such track extensions may be raised or lowered to obtain the desired degree of contact between the two rollers, and such degree of contact may also be varied longitudinally of the axes of the rollers. By introduci'ng' 'variation in such degree of contact, more or less ink maybe transferred from the fountain roller toflthe inking roller and from the latter intu'rn tothe inking disc, at one side of such disc 'or the other as may be found desirable. In other words, where a more extensive printing "surface occurs on' one side of the form, a correspondingly greater amount o1 ink can be supplied to the same side of the disc and'thus insure proper inking of the form' without accumulating a surplus? in any portion thereof.

Also by hingedlyconnecting track extensions 46 with the main tracks [1; such extensions may be turned upwardly entirely out of the way ofthe ink fountainwhen it is'desired to secure access to the latter or remove. the roller of the samefor any purpose.'.l. ,1. i

Step-by-step'rotatio'n of the fountain roller is produced by means of a ratchet wheel 511 on one end of the roller shaft (the rear as viewed in Figs. 1' and 2) and a pawl 51 carried by a lever 52', which is pivoted on the end of the roller shaft. A link 53 connects the outer end of lever 52 with the adjacent side arm iii of the press sothat upon swinging movement of the latter said lever will be oscillatedsufficiently to rotate the ratchet wheel an amount equal to the distance between the successive teeth thereon.

From the foregoing description it will be seen that the operator of a press of the type in question may quickly and easily adjust the inking mechanism to. suit the conditions of normal: operation and at the same time facilitate press makeup. When in course of normal operation the press throw-off is actuated the supply of ink to the ink distributing disc is immediately and automatically cut off. On the other hand, should it be desired to take proofs when setting up the press for a run, the inking mechanism may be rendered operative irrespective of whether the throw-off is actuated. or not. Similarly, such inking mechanism may be rendered inoperative irrespective of whether the throw-off is actuated or not. Finally, by independently adjustably supporting the hinged track extensions over which the inking roller travels in order to contact with the fountain roller, the degree of contact between the two rollers may be readily varied as required.

Other modes of applying the principle of my invention ma be employed instead of the one explained, change being made as regards the mechanism herein disclosed, provided the means stated by any of the following claims or the equivalent of such stated means be employed.

I therefore particularly point out and distinctly claim as my invention:

1. In inkin mechanism for printing presses, the combination of a fountain roller mounted so as to be tiltable into and out of position to contact with an ink-distributing roller, a rocker adapted to tilt said fountain roller, an oscillable shaft connected with the press throw-off, and a boss on said shaft adapted to engage an arm of said rocker, whereby the latter normally maintains said fountain roller in such contacting position and upon rotation of said shaft said roller is dropped into such non-contacting position, said boss being movable on said shaft into and out of position where it may thus engage said rocker.

2. In inking mechanism for printing presses, the combination of a fountain roller mounted so as to be tiltable into and out of position to contact with an ink-distributing roller, a rocker adapted to tilt said fountain roller, an oscillable shaft connected with the press throw-off, and a boss on said shaft adapted to engage an arm of said rocker, whereby the latter normally maintains said fountain roller in such contacting position and upon rotation of said shaft said roller is dropped into such non-contacting position, said boss being movable on said shaft into and out of position where it may thus engage said rocker, said boss in one such other position engaging said rocker irrespective of oscillation of said shaft.

3. In inking mechanism for printing presses, the combination of a fountain roller mounted so as to be tiltable into and out of position to contact with an ink-distributing roller, a rocker adapted to tilt said fountain roller, an oscillable shaft connected with the press throw-off, and a boss on said shaft adapted to engage an arm of said rocker, whereby the latter normally maintains said fountain roller in such contacting position and upon rotation of said shaft said roller is dropped into such non-contacting position, said boss being movable on said shaft into and out of position where it may thus engage said rocker, said boss in one such other position remaining out of engagement with said rocker irrespective of oscillation of said shaft.

4. In inking mechanism for a printing press having a throw-off, the combination of an inkdistributing plate, an ink-distributing roller movable back and forth across such plate, an inkfountain adjacent one edge of said plate, said fountain being pivoted about an axis beneath said plate and including a roller normally adapted to contaotwith said distributing roller when the latter is moved towards such edge, and means adapted to support said fountain with its roller in such contacting position, said means including a rocker extending beneath said fountain, whereon the latter rests, an oscillable shaft connected with the press throw-off, and a rotatably adjust able ring on said shaft carrying a boss adapted in one position of said ring to engage and disengage an arm of said rocker upon oscillation of said shaft.

5. In inking mechanism for a printing press having a throw-off, the combination of an inkdistributing plate, an ink-distributing roller movable back and forth across such plate, an inkfountain adjacent one edge of said plate, said fountain being pivoted about an axis beneath said plate and including a roller normally adapted to contact with said distributin roller when the latter is moved towards such edge, and means adapted to support said fountain with its roller in such contacting position, said means including a rocker extending beneath said fountain, whereon the latter rests, an oscillable shaft connected with the press throw-off, and a rotatably adjustable ring on said shaft carrying a ooss adapted in one position of said ring to engage and disengage an arm of said rocker upon oscillation of said shaft and in another position of said ring to engage such arm irrespective of oscillation of said shaft.

6. In inking mechanism for a printing press having a throw-off, the combination of an inkdistributing plate, an ink-distributing roller movable back and forth across such plate, an inkfountain adjacent one edge of said plate, said fountain being pivoted about an axis beneath said plate and including a roller normally adapted to contact with said distributing roller when the latter is moved towards such edge, and means adapted to support said fountain with its roller in such contacting position, said means including a rocker extending beneath said fountain, whereon the latter rests, an oscillable shaft connected with the press throw-off, and a rotatably adjustable ring on said shaft carrying a boss adapted in one position of said ring to engage and disengage an arm of said rocker upon oscillation of said shaft, in another position of said ring to engage such arm irrespective of oscillation of said shaft, and in another position of said ring to remain out of engagement with such arm irrespective of oscillation of said shaft.

7. In mechanism of the character described, the combination of an inking plate, an ink fountain including a roller disposed adjacent to one edge of said plate, an inking roller transversely movable across the latter into and out of contact with said fountain roller, and'means adapt- 7 ed to vary the degree of contact of said "rollers longitudinally of their axes.

8. In mechanism of'the character described, the combination of an inking plate, an ink fountain including a roller disposed adjacent to one edge of said plate, an inking roller transversely movable across the latter into and out ofcontact with said fountain roller, parallel tracks disposed alongside said plate, wheels for said inking roller adapted to run on said tracks with said inking roller in contact with said plate, and ex-' tensions of said tracks for carrying said inking roller into contact with said fountain roller, said track extensions being adjustable to vary the degree of contact of said rollers longitudinally of their axes.

9. In mechanism of the character described, the combination of an inking plate, an ink fountain including a roller disposed adjacent to one edge of said plate, an inking roller transversely movable across the latter into and out of contact with said fountain roller, parallel tracks disposed alongside said plate, wheels for said inking roller adapted to run on said tracks with said inking roller in contact with said plate, and extensions of said tracks hingedly connected thereto for carrying said inking roller into contact with said fountain roller, said track extensions being adjustable to vary the degree of contact of said rollers longitudinally of their axes.

10. In mechanism of the character described, the combination of an inking plate, an ink fountain including a roller disposed adjacent to one edge of said plate, an inking roller transversely movable across the latter into and out of contact with said fountain roller, parallel tracks disposed alongside said plate, wheels for said inking roller adapted to run on said tracks with said inking roller in contact with said plate, extensions of said tracks hingedly connected thereto for carrying said inking roller into contact with said fountain'roller, andadjusting screws whereby the outer ends of said track extensions may be independently raised and lowered. 11. In inking mechanism for printing presses, the combination of a fountain roller mounted so as to be movable into and out of position to contact with an ink-distributing roller, adjustable means connected with the press throw-off and adapted in one position to move said fountain roller into such out-of-contact position upon actuation of such throw-ofi, and means operative to hold said adjustable means in another position unaifected by actuation of such throw-off. 12. In inking mechanism for printing presses, the combination of a fountain roller mounted so as to be movable into and out of position to contact with an ink-distributing roller, adjustable means connected with the press throw-off and adapted in one position to move said fountain roller into such out-of-contact position upon actuation of such throw-oft, and means operative to hold said adjustable means in position to maintain said fountain roller in contacting position irrespective of such throw-off, when desired.

CHARLES F. ROOT.

REFERENCES CITED UNITED STATES PATENTS Name Date Kluge et al Apr. 4, 1939 Number 

